When a solute is dissolved in a solvent or when two solutions are combined the volumes aren't necessarily additive. However, the masses are additive according to the law of conservation of mass. It's common for the total volume of a solution to be less than the sum of the volumes of the components before they were combined, which is what you're observing. The difference between the volume of a solution and the sum of the...
When a solute is dissolved in a solvent or when two solutions are combined the volumes aren't necessarily additive. However, the masses are additive according to the law of conservation of mass. It's common for the total volume of a solution to be less than the sum of the volumes of the components before they were combined, which is what you're observing. The difference between the volume of a solution and the sum of the volumes of the uncombined components is designated as `Delta` V, and it can be either positive or negative. A solution with a `Delta` V of zero is called an ideal solution. For a non-ideal solution, the amount that a component contributes to the total volume is called the partial molar volume.
This phenomenon occurs because the attractions between solute and solvent particles are different from the attractions between particles in the pure components, and because the shapes of the particles can result in closer or more distant packing. If you have a full container of sand, you can still add water to the container because it fills spaces between the sand particles. (This is just an analogy. A mixture of sand and water isn't a solution.) When two components of a solution are combined one component can sometimes fit into spaces between particles of the other.
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